Brandish Original Sound Track ~FM TOWNS & Renewal~ (2009)

Nihon Falcom simply has some of the best old synthesizer music out there. If you're looking for the good stuff, just look at anything they made for the variety of old PCs- it's all great and this album is no exception. There are two versions of the Brandish soundtrack here: The FM Towns (Disk 1) and the PC-98 (Disk 2). Both are pretty good albeit I think the PC-98 album is better overall. Technically, the synthesizer for the FM Towns is just excellent for ambient tracks, with the somber RUINS and Ancient Statue creating an atmosphere that is just absent from their PC-98 counterpart. However, the synthesizer for the FM Towns could not, if I am not mistaken, have as many channels for instruments as the PC-98. As a result, the FM Town tracks are more minimalistic with less instruments while the PC-98 has a more robust and fuller sound. While this generally works in favor of the PC-98 (see for instance, Dearthwidow, which in the PC-98 has a little extra ringing that really adds to the track), sometimes the simplicity of the FM Towns wins out (Dink in the FM Towns, for instance, sounds better in my opinion because the nice initial beat is more clear throughout the track and gives it a sense of unity; whereas in the PC-98 track, it gets drowned out by the extra instruments). Beyond this, the FM Towns also sounds somewhat harsh at times with these tracks whereas the PC-98's more digital sound is consistent throughout (compare Headless and Rakshasa between the two systems; they sound good on the PC-98 but somewhat harsh on the FM Towns). Overall, I'd give the FM Towns album a 8.75/10 and the PC-98 album a 9.25/10

In my opinion,

For the FM Towns (Disk1):
Best Tracks: Ruins, Ancient Statue, Dink, Dearthwidow
Also Good: Prologue (FM Version), Shop (1), TOWER, Ninjya, Dark Zone, Game Over, Ending (1), Ending (3), Disk Copy

For the PC-98 (Disk 2):
Best Tracks: Prologue, Ruins, Shop (1), Dink, Dearthwidow
Also Good: Shop (2), Ancient Statue, Stage Clear, TOWER, Headless, Rakshasa, DARK ZONE, Ending (3), Disk Copy
 
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